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Malaysian media—traditionally constrained by significant legal restrictions and various forms of intimidation—was further restricted in 2006 as a by-product of government attempts to suppress public discussion of divisive and potentially explosive issues. The constitution provides each citizen with “the right to freedom of speech and expression,” but allows for limitations on this right. The government imposes these limitations in practice, ostensibly to protect national security and public order. The 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) requires all publishers and printing firms to obtain an annual operations permit, and gives the prime minister—as the minister of internal security—the authority to revoke licenses at any time without judicial review. The PPPA has been used by authorities to shut down or otherwise circumscribe the distribution of pro-opposition media outlets and was invoked in early 2006 to indefinitely suspend the Sarawak Tribune and temporarily suspend the Guang Ming Daily for reproducing the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi invoked the act again in mid-February to prohibit the publication, distribution, or possession of any materials relating to the Danish caricatures. The government’s handling of the cartoon issue and use of the PPA fostered fear of a selective crackdown on the press and led the media to self-censor its coverage of major fuel price hike protests in April, some of which were brutally put down by the police

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